Signal-buoy.



, PATBNTED DEC.17, 1907. T. L. WILLSONQ V SIGNAL BUOY.

i WITNESSES:

Ni 873,917 I PATENTED DEC. .17, 1907.

T. L. WILL ONx SIGNAL BUOY.

A LIOATIONIILEIJ JULY 26,1905.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3 PATENTED DEG. 1'7, 190?.

T. L. WILLSON. SIGNAL BUOY.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26, 1905.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

.CIZZ.

INVENTOR:

NO. 373,917. I PATENTED DBO. 1?,1901

T. L. 'WILLSON. SIGNAL BUOY.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26, 1906.

, FIG. 9

' UNITED STATES THOMAS L. WILLSON, OF OTTAWA, ONTARIO,

PATENT ermine.

CANADA, ASSIG-NOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNlllENlTS,

TO UNITED STATES MARINE SIGNAL COMPANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A. GOR- PORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SIGNAL-RUDY.

at. 873,917. Specification o f Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 1?, is.

Application filed my 26.1905. Serial No- T713853.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be itknown that I, THoMAs L. WILLSON, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Ottawa, Province of Ontario, Canada,

. the plane 44 of Fi ,still water, an

1 ing the have invented certain new and useful Imrovements in Signal-Buoyaof which the ollowing'is aspecification.

This invention aims to provide certain improvements in buoys carrying bells above or elow the surface, and preferably also carrying lamps, such for example as in theilluminated or acet lene buoy-of my Patent No.

791,119, date May 30, 1905.

The invention es ecially prov'descertain extremely simple ut stro and durable mechanism for striking the be I. Various features of im rovement are referred to in detail hereina ter.

The accompanyin drawings illustrate a buoy embodying the invention.

Figure 1 is a, vertical elevation partly in section through the center of the buoy showing a complete bell rin elevation; Fig. 2 is a p an of the operating shaft of the bell-ringin mechanism; Fig. 2 isan edge view thereof; Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the mechanism at the upperend of the shaft; Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on 3; Fig. 5 is a plan of thesame; Fig. 6 is asi e of said mechanism; Fig 7 is a side elevation of the striker and o eratmg'mechanism; .Fig. 8 is a part plan an part horizontal section of the same. Figs. 3-8 are views from the opposite side tothat of Fig." 1. Figs. 9, 11- and 12 are vertical sections, and Fig. 10 is a horizontal section illustrating modifications.

Referring now to the embodiment illustrated the buoy is provided with a buoyant body A, and carries a lamp'B at the u per part of a superstructure C. A device striking the bell is carried below' the water level, preferabl so far v down as to be in the a bell E is carried b the same su erstructure which carries the amp. The bo y of the buoy carries also a gas gen erating chamber F, and appropriate mechanism for regulating the operation and conductas to the 1am all these being substantial y as illustrate 'in my patent above referred, to and requiring no detailed explanation here.

Theactuatinilevice D for producing the striking of the ll, is a substantially spiral plate or vane,

. cillating the shaft.

ing arrangement in elevation of a portion and is mounted, on a vertical i operating shaft As the busy l-falls, the spiral shape of the va' a turning-movement of the forth, an irregular oscillation. thebuoy swings from side to o 1 Will be thrown to one side or. the otl' on lt'will seen th ef I that movement of the buoy in any direction will give'a greater or less turn to the shaft. The use of a vertical shaft for transmitting the movement simplifies to the greatest de gree the connection between the operating f device D and the mechanism for conver iits movements into a striking of the b 1 The shaft is carried. throu h tube ll the buoyant body A and close to the central tubularportion J and is thus exposed only at its lower end to shocks. The oscillating l movement being also comparatively slight, l the structure is extremely urable.

At the upper end of t is shaft G its oscil lating movement is converted into a rotary movement, and utilized to operate a striking I lever. The mechanism for this purpose is shown as a whole at K (Fig. l). The details l are best shown in Fig. 3. A rotary member 1 L is mounted on the upper end c'lthe shaft 5 intermediate between an upper lined meni 5 bcr M and a lower member bl which is keyed on the shaft by a key A ratchet O and pawls P connect the lower and intermediate members, so that when the shaft is rotated in one direction (say clock-wise when looking down upon the top of it), the intermediate i member will also be rotated. A second l ratchet Q and p'awls R form a connection be 1 tween the intermediatclmember and the hp g per fixed member, which prevent the inter mediate member from turning backwards, that is to say, anti-clockwise.

-'The.rotary inter-mediate member lJ prii" vided with wings or cams S, which serve to operate the striking lever in the manner hereinafter described. The fixed member M is provided with a flange T at its outer edge surrounding the rateheted portion of the intermediate member L, and the latter is rovided with a. similar flange ll surroun ing the ratcheted portion of the oscillating mem her 0. The parts of this entire mechanism are few and simple, andnare protected by the flanges T and U so as to-reduce to a minimum l the ossibility of their getting out of order. T estriker and connected parts are also i reduced to the simplest form possible. The

1 ill utilized to withdraw the hammer a short distance to permit the bell to ring freely. F orward and rear stops Y and Z respectively are carried on a rod a which is connected by a link I) with the striking lever, and partakes of theferward and backward movements thereof. Forward andrear slides a and d respectively are also carried on said rod a, and are pressed apart against their respective stops by means of a heavy coiled spring 6, the slides c and (1 having flanges enveloping to a great extent the spring e so as to protect it from the weather. The slides a and d fit into a cylinder f bolted to the under side of the flange g of the fixed member 'M. The rear end h of the cylinder is bolted thereon by means of flanges, as indicated in Fig. 7, and is removable to permit the removal of the spring and slides. The inner face of the cylinderfis provided with longitudinal grooves j which prevent any air resistance to the movement of the slides d, the latter being fitted close to the face of the cylinder so as to have as little play or looseness as possible.

In operatio the wings or cams S carried by the rotary member push forward the short end of the striking lever V and then release the same. When the hammer end of the lever V is pushed backward from its nor- 'mal position, the rod 0. carries with it the iixed stop 1 and the slide 0, pressingthe spring against the slide (1, which is held from backward movement by the head 7:, of the cylinder, constituting lixed stop. Upon the release of the lever over the end of the cam, the spring expands and throws the lever forward until the forward slide 0 strikes against the fixed stop constituted by the forward endpf the cylinder, whereupon the momentum of the parts carries the lever still farther forward, drawing forward the fixed stop Z and slide d, and compressing the spring against the front of the cylinder. This movement is sullicient to permit the hammer to strike the bell a good blow, whereupon the compression of the spring is exerted in the opposite direction, and presses the slide (1 back against the rear head of the cylinder, restoring the parts to their normal position.

The buoy may be weighted at its lower cnd by any usual or suitable disk /t' (Fig. l). ()rpreferably the counterweight is made as shown in Figs. 9 and 1'0 of a central ring 6, from which extends outward the radial spokes m connected to an outer irng n. The

. advantage of this construction is the securing of a considerable weight without seriously interfering with the flow of the water upward or downward-upon the spiral vane, and at the same time giving a broad base to 71 stand the buoy on when it is out of the water, and the outer ring N also guides the water against the wing D during the downward motion of the buoy and thereby increases the I power available to o erate the hell. 7:

The efficiency of t e vane, or rather of the water in operating the vane, may be increased by inclosing the same in a tube 0 preferably open at top and bottom and entirely submerged (Figs. 11 and 12), in which 84 case the vane referably has two or more wings D D. his insures a practically-unyielding column of water-moving upward or downward against the vane, and with much more force than where there is no obstruc- 8; tion at the sides to revent the water yielding laterally under t e pressure.

The tube 0 is of value not only in connection with the spiral vane shown, but'in connection with a variety of other devices for 91 receiving the movement of a column of water. For example, as shown in Fig. 12, the tube may be used with good effect to concentrate the water upon a vertically moving disk p, which nearly fills the tube, and which 9. has a range of movement such as to carry it beyond the open end of the tube to permit the water to escape laterally at the end of the stroke. This disk, as well as the other devices shown, may be applied to the o crating 11 mechanism of a bell at any desired location on the buoy.

In connection with other types of buo s than that shown, the vane or disk may e gpplied in any suitable tubularportion of the, II

Tiiough I have described with great particularity of detail certain specific embodiments of the invention, .yet it is not to be un derstood therefrom that the invention is lim- 1: ited to the specific embodiment disclosed. Various modifications thereof in detail and in the arrangement and combination of the] parts, may be made Within the scope of the appended claims by those skilled in the art, 11

'without de arture from the invention.

What I c aim is r v 1. A bell-buoy including in combination a bell, a striker, a spring for forcing said striker toward the bell and a cam for retracting and 1: suddenly releasing said spring, whereb the striker is forced toward the bell, a fixe stop to limit the forward movement of said s ring before the striking movement is comp eted, and a stop carried by the striker and adapted it to compress the, sprin against said fixed sto by the momentum o the striker to permit the completion of the stroke and then retract the striker.

2. .A bell-buoy including in combinations. 1:

striker, a rod connected thereto, a forward and a rear'stop on said rod, a forward and a rear slide, a spring pressing said slides apart against said stops, a forward andia rear fixed 1 stop adapted to be engaged by said forward and rear slide respectively, and means for moving said rod to press said rear slide against its fixed stop and to compress the spring, and then releasing said rod, whereby 1 said. spring throws said striker forward ti the forward slide strikes the forward fixed stop, whereupon the acquired momentum carries the rod farther and. resses thezforward slide against its fixe stop and the spring then restores the parts to their normal positions. A v

' Inwitness whereof, I have hereun si nod my name in the presence of two subseri ing Witnesses. 

